One thousand, seven-hundred and seventeen. That's how many American soldiers have died in Bush's trumped-up Iraq War so far, points out GrannyInsanity, a fierce Montana political blogger who is not letting us forget. (Much as some of us -- like, uh, me -- would prefer to stick our heads in the sand.)
Think about it: 1,717 men, women, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, grandsons, granddaughters. All of those bodies have left a hole in someone's life, a hole that cannot be filled. And it didn't have to be this way.
Granny and I want to plan an action of some sort for when the number hits 1776. Some way of saying, "We notice. We see what's happening."
Do you have any ideas for a powerful action? Here are a few, none of which I'm particularly wild about, but maybe they'll spark some genius in one of you:
-call in sick to work the next day
-not spend any money the next day
-black armbands
-everyone could write the number 1776 in large type on their blog, graffiti, send it to the president, etc. Sort of a massive awareness "we're watching" campaign.
-something to do with $17.76?
-protest gatherings where people form a giant 1776 and have a photo taken from above, share it via blogs, etc.
What do you say? Is 1776 a big enough, meaningful enough number to say, "No more"?
14 Comments:
What a wonderful idea! Count me in.
I'm not keen on calling in sick to work, just because I work for a small company and I don't want to screw my co-workers over it.
However, I'm all for:
Not spending money.
Armbands or other symbols.
Protest gatherings.
And, of course, blogging about it.
Perhaps someone creative should make something and we can have a CafePress account for it? Bumper Sticker for our vehicles, t-shirts, etc?
Yeah, I'm with you on the calling in sick to work thing.
Here's another idea: Donate $17.76 to the peace organization of your choice.
I love the Cafe Press idea.
I was thinking about the symbolism of the year 1776, which of course was when America became the United States with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. These lines in the Declaration stand out to me:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ... That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it ....
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Oil? I think not.
Another idea: All proceeds from the Cafe Press stuff could go to one or more peace organizations.
Blog about it, write congress, donate money to charity, these things make a difference. It's grassroots support that causes the ground swell of change. And if the polls are right, this country is ripe for political change. Hopefully in the next election! But, alas, how many more lives will be lost by then?
Check out Dr. Omed's site.
http://blogs.salon.com/0002296/2005/06/14.html#a1285
Do the "chalk walk". Civil disobedience is the answer. The number, sadly, is now 1720.
That's cool.
How about chalk outlines? Or painted with red tempera paint?
People'd have to work in teams -- one lies down, the other traces the body's outline.
Chalk outlines! What an idea!
I bet you could even get a permit to do that in most places.
I also like the idea of donating $17.76 and of putting the numbers 1776 on your rear window.
Slogans:
"1776 dead Americans. Declare your independence ... from the death machine."
"1776 dead Americans in Iraq. How many more?"
"1776 dead Americans. Is it time for the revolution yet?"
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (scratched out, then ...) Death, Torture and the Pursuit of Halliburton Contracts"
How bout you buy a ticket to Iraq.....it will cost your about $1700 to get to Kuwait. Go over and see for yourself.....no...its not good....but at least you will have some idea of what you are against and not just something that someone else said you should be against. What about spending your $17.76 to buy a copy of the Koran and read it from front to back...oh and read the "Holy" Bible too while you are at it.......take a close look at what our "leaders" say and you will see that this is a war between ideas and beliefs from the 7th and 14th centuries....not about oil.
This is a splendid concept. The day is symbolic . The day is the day we hit 1776 again. Perhaps the words Seventeen
Seventy-Six MIGht alert a slumbering population into taking matters into our own hands ( for Once !!! ) Thanks .
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Note to the first anonymous. You apparently believe everything you are told. You don't question authority. The war is wrong. We've done nothing good for the people of Iraq. We've created a haven for terrorists. Countless thousands of innocent people have died, for what? Do you really believe those people are better off now than they were with Saddam Hussain? He didn't kill nearly as many as have died since "mission accomplished". Your "holy" bible says thou shalt not kill. Apparently you pick and choose what to follow from that book as well. Are you over in Iraq right now? If not call me when you get there. Then you can talk.
Let the bush supporters fight the war in Iraq and let everybody else go home to their families.
I am jumping on the buckboard a little late (current fatalities for American soldiers dead-2662- never mind all of the other ally troops). I am curious if you all did anything and does 1776 mean enough to our current popuation? I say-pick a significant number of any kind, organize and overwhelm the most important congress peoples phone lines (including our own prestigious governemnt officials in MT) with loving messages of revolution.
Peace Out
Yeah, we started a blog called "1776 Dead Americans." The main posters were me, Mike of Chew Toys and Granny of Granny Insanity.
I actually just pulled it a little over a month ago, because our interest (and posts) seemed to be dwindling. To me, it just began to feel pointless. Hopeless.
I sort of wish now that I'd archived it, though.
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